Experimental and Neuroinformatic Definition of Neural Circuits in Caenorhabditis elegans

Author: Prakash, Sharan Jagdish

Year: 2024

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Sternberg, Paul W.

Committee Members: Hay, Bruce A.; Sternberg, Paul W.; Rothenberg, Ellen V.; Hong, Elizabeth J.

Option: Biology

DOI: 10.7907/bgvy-9p06

Abstract

The free-living nematode Caenorhabditidis elegans is an established model organism for research in molecular genetics, cell and developmental biology, evolution, and neuroscience. This thesis describes two research projects in C. elegans neuroscience. The first project concerns the challenge of synthesizing the accumulating neurobiological literature in C. elegans. I describe how an established framework for semantic modelling of cellular pathways can be adapted for semantic modelling of neural circuits and functional annotation of the nervous system, and its potential applications for systems neuroscience. A second portion describes a series of experiments investigating a decision-making process in C. elegans larval development that is under neuronal control. C. elegans larvae have the ability to decide among alternative developmental trajectories based on environmental conditions, that are detected via its nervous system. In this work, I describe the contribution of several neurons to this decision-making process, and our discoveries about the response properties of two neurons to ethologically relevant chemical stimuli.

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